The room was packed to capacity, on a very busy club night, with more tables and chairs needing to be brought in by the Hamworthy Club staff. Our speaker for the evening was David Smith, Head Warden at Kingston Lacy. David spoke to us for over an hour, covering the history of the land and the estate over the last 3,500 years. At one time it was the most wealthy and financially productive estate in the country and also one of the largest. The history of local names still in existence today, but with their origin many hundreds of years ago, was most interesting. Many of us thought that we knew Kingston Lacy well, but our eyes were opened to the real history that was revealed to us. David’s easy going delivery, without notes, made him an excellent choice for a club speaker and we look forward to inviting him to speak to us again next year. I for one will never visit or drive past Kingston Lacy without looking at the land in a completely new light.
David Smith – Head Warden at Kingston Lacy